Adam Shapiro, left, and Dr. Tarique Perera demonstrate the magnetic pulse treatment on Carol Wilder-Tamme.

Photo Credit: Casey Donahue

Tarique Perera

Photo Credit: Casey Donahue

Psychiatrist Dr. Tarique Perera has brought to Darien a new treatment for depression and anxiety that he says causes significant improvement in 90 percent of patients. After teaming with the Life Solution Center of Darien he is offering transcranial magnetic stimulation, which targets specific areas of the brain with magnetic pulses to treat depression. He says it is more effective than either electroconvulsive therapy or medication.

"It's one of the safest, most durable treatments for depression. I believe that in the next 20 years or so, medication will be out of date," Perera said. He did research on the technology of the new treatment for 10 years at Columbia University and says the change he has seen in patients has been remarkable.

The treatment is FDA-approved only for depression patients who have failed to see results with medication. Over four to six weeks, patients receive magnetic pulse treatments five times a week. The sessions run 37 minutes and administer 3,000 pulses designed to activate areas of the brain that are abnormally underactive.

The full treatment cost $10,000 to $12,000. Adam Shapiro, who administers the procedure at Life Solutions, said most patients have already tried and failed with several forms of medication, as well as with psychoanalysis and electroconvulsive therapy.

"There was one woman who came in the first week and she was crying, she was miserable. She had tried psychotherapy and medication and had failed, and had a terrible outlook on life. After five weeks she was going on job interviews, she was interested in relationships again. She had a much more pleasant disposition," he said.

Carol Wilder-Tamme does not suffer from depression, but underwent a demonstration of the procedure recently to see what it was like. Wilder-Tamme, president of the Darien Chamber of Commerce, said it was not painful nor did she suffer side effects from the few magnetic pulses she received.

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